[Last updated 11 Oct 2026]This policy explains how Speak Chinese. collects, uses and protects personal information when you visit speakchinese.co.uk, contact us, take lessons with us or book training for your organization.Speak Chinese. is run jointly by Ryan Choi and Daniel Chan. We are joint data controllers for the information described here, which means we decide how and why it is used.You can contact us about anything in this policy at info@speakchinese.co.uk.We process personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where we teach or provide services to people in the European Union, we also comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR).

We collect only what we need to answer your enquiry, teach you and run our business.When you contact us through the website form or by email, we collect your name, email address and the content of your message, along with anything else you choose to tell us, such as your level of Chinese or your goals. When you book lessons or a course, we also record your time zone, preferred language of instruction, course and level, lesson schedule and booking history.During your lessons, we keep notes on your progress, along with homework and exercises you send us and messages exchanged between lessons. If you are under 18, we collect the name and contact details of a parent or guardian and a record of their consent.When an organization books workshops or training, we collect the contact details of the person arranging the booking, the names and job titles of participants, the organization’s name and billing details, and information about its sector and training needs.When you pay, we keep a record of the amount, date and payment reference. Card and bank details are handled by our payment provider and are not stored by us. When you visit our website, technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you view is collected through cookies and similar technologies, as described under Cookies and analytics.We do not record lessons unless we have asked you first and you have agreed.

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of personal information. Ours are set out below.We use your contact details to reply to enquiries and arrange a first lesson, relying on our legitimate interest in responding to people who contact us, or on steps taken at your request before entering into a contract. We use the information described above to deliver lessons, courses, workshops and training, including scheduling, materials and progress notes, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you or your organization.We process payments and keep financial records to perform our contract and to meet our legal obligations, for example under tax and accounting rules. We may also use your information to handle complaints, disputes or legal claims, on the basis of our legitimate interest in protecting our business and our legal obligations.With your consent, we send occasional news about new courses and workshops, and use analytics cookies to understand how our website is used. You can withdraw consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails, emailing us, or changing your cookie settings.We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for automated decision-making or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects on you.

We teach students aged [13] and over. For any student under 18, we ask a parent or guardian to make the booking, provide their own contact details and agree to this policy on the student’s behalf.We collect no more information about younger students than we need to teach them. We send lesson arrangements and invoices to the parent or guardian, and we do not send marketing messages to anyone under 18.A parent or guardian may ask to see, correct or delete their child’s information at any time, using the contact details in this policy.

We share personal information only with service providers who help us run Speak Chinese., and only as far as they need it to do so. They act on our instructions and are bound by contract to keep it secure.These providers include Google, which supplies our business email, file storage and online lessons through Google Workspace and Google Meet; Wix, which hosts the website and its contact form; Wix Booking, which we use to schedule lessons; and Wix Payments, which processes payments. Where we use them, Wix measures how the website is used.We may also disclose information where the law requires it, for example to a tax authority, or to protect our legal rights.Within Speak Chinese., your information is available to the teacher you work with and, where needed for administration, to the other teacher.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it.Enquiries that do not lead to lessons or training are kept for 12 months after our last contact. Student and client records, including progress notes, are kept for 2 years after your last lesson or training session, so that we can pick up where you left off if you return. Invoices and payment records are kept for 6 years, as tax and accounting rules require, and newsletter subscriptions until you unsubscribe.When these periods end, we delete the information or make it anonymous.

We store student and client records in password-protected accounts with two-step verification, limit access to the two teachers, and use reputable providers that encrypt data in transit and at rest. No system is completely secure, but if a breach affecting your information occurs, we will tell you and the relevant authority where the law requires it.

You have a number of rights over your personal information.You can ask for access to your information and a copy of it, have inaccurate information corrected, and have it deleted where we no longer have a reason to keep it. You can also ask us to restrict how we use it, object to our use of it where we rely on legitimate interests, and object at any time to marketing. Where we hold your information under a contract or with your consent, you can ask to receive it in a portable format, and where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.To use any of these rights, email us at [privacy@speakchinese.co.uk]. We will reply within one month and will not usually charge a fee. We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

Our website uses cookies, small files stored on your device. Essential cookies make the site work, for example by remembering your cookie choices and keeping the contact form secure, and do not need your consent.With your consent, we also use analytics cookies from Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site, such as which pages they view. We do not use advertising cookies.You can accept or refuse non-essential cookies when you first visit, and change your choice at any time. You can also block cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may then not work as intended.

We may update this policy when our services or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last revised, and we will tell current students and clients about any significant change.If you have a question or concern about how we handle your information, please contact us first at info@speakchinese.co.uk so we can try to resolve it.You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).